Todd Golden Doesn't Hold Back on Florida Gators' Biggest Weakness

The Florida Gators have been absolutely rolling of late, having won 12 of their last 13 games to improve to 21-6 on the season as they attempt to defend their national championship victory from a year ago.

Florida hasn't just been beating teams during this stretch: it has been routing them, as evidenced by the Gators' 94-75 win over Ole Miss on Saturday night.

But the biggest takeaway from Florida's weekend win was not that it beat the Rebels. Ole Miss is 11-16. The Gators were supposed to win that game.

It was the way they won it.

Todd Golden's squad — which has struggled mightily from three-point range all season long — made 11 of its 22 long-distance tries in the triumph, with Urban Klavzar draining four triples and Boogie Fland going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Afterward, Golden opened up on what it means for Florida to conquer is biggest hurdle.

"I think it shows our ceiling," Golden told reporters. "We try to play a certain style that gives us a high floor and allows us to play well through spans of not shooting the ball well. When we do make shots like that, we have the ability to run away from teams. And I thought today was an example of that because we sacrificed a lot of possessions offensively."

That's for sure.

Perimeter shooting has really been Florida's only real bugaboo this year. The Gators are shooting just 30.1 percent from downtown, which ranks 341st out of 365 Division-I teams. That isn't going to cut it for a championship contender.

Lately, however, Florida has been showing signs of getting hot from deep at just the right time, as we are inching closer and closer to March.

"So we were pretty efficient when we took care of the basketball, and obviously that 3-point shooting allowed us to maintain and grow a lead, even when we weren't playing our best in terms of ball control," Golden added.

There is no question that the Gators have what it takes to repeat as national champions so long as they are hitting their threes at a respectable rate.

Florida simply cannot afford to make just 30 percent of its treys in the NCAA Tournament. That's a recipe for an early exit and potentially even a first-round upset.

But if the Gators do start burying their three-pointers with regularity, they will be an absolutely terrifying squad to play when the stakes are highest.

Gators Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Florida Gators. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.